§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will consider amending the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, in order to reduce expense caused to the United Kingdom hotel industry.
§ Mr. McLoughlinWe are always ready to consider amending any regulations for which this Department is responsible if we become convinced that their enforcement is imposing unintended and unreasonable burdens on industry. In this case, however, the evidence which we have does not indicate that these regulations or their enforcers are imposing such burdens, but rather that the regulations are being systematically misrepresented by some parties so as to promote their own business interests at the expense of others. We are having further inquiries made into this. Meanwhile, we are asking the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission to arrange for the Health and Safety Executive to continue clarifying, expanding and publicising its guidance to employers on this subject so that such misrepresentations, even if continued, will become less likely to, be effective.